Here at Rag-NERD-rok, we really enjoy our tabletop role-playing games. One of our favorites as of late has been “Fiasco,” a story-oriented, GM-less system published by Bully Pulpit Games. During a lull in our more organized campaigns, we’ll often crack a new “Fiasco” playset to keep our RPG skills sharp and entertain ourselves for an evening. Sometimes, we’ll even record our sessions for later, as they are often rich with compelling drama and characters. Today, as a special off-week alternate episode of Rag-NERD-rok, we’d like to share one of these recordings with you. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the barely controlled insanity of our imaginations!

(Session notes after the break.)

This “Fiasco” was created using the “Dragon Slayers” playset by Logan Bonner, which was featured in December of 2010 on the Bully Pulpit website. For more fun and exciting “Fiasco” playsets, check out the downloads page! Bully Pulpit publishes a new one every month, and they’re usually entertaining.

THE SETUP: Ten years ago, the town of Gorg hosted the 33rd Annual Dragon Slaying Contest and Chili Cook-off, a competition where the bravest heroes met to test their skills on the battlefield and in the kitchen. Unfortunately for all in attendance, a nefarious group of necromancers usurped the contest, intending to sacrifice the hapless population of Gorg so that their leader, Anathema the Wicked, would be transformed into an immortal lich. One of the competitors, a wizard named Hanzelbar, put an end to their plans and defeated the dark princess, but not before the dragons escaped and rampaged through town, killing everybody. In the aftermath, Hanzelbar did the only rational thing he could think of: he took Anathema as his slave and used the leftover body parts of Gorg’s defunct citizens to create a hideous flesh golem called Mitch.

Now, Hanzelbar, Anathema and Mitch have slain the dragon that was terrorizing the logging community of Nettle, and are hauling its carcass back to town to collect their reward. When Hanzelbar learns that another chili cook-off is taking place, he sees it as an opportunity to reclaim his lost glory, while Anathema and Mitch see it as a chance to escape from Hanzelbar’s tyrannical clutches. Will Hanzelbar finally win his gold medal? Can Anathema break free of her servitude? Will Mitch ever realize his dream of becoming a troubadour? And what are the chances that a sinister figure from their past will come back to try the lich spell a second time? Listen to this hilarious “Fiasco” to find out!

PLAYERS / Dramatis Personae:

CHRIS / Hanzelbar The Fallen: An ancient, decrepit necromancer who, until 10 years ago, managed to reconcile his title of Heroic Adventurer with his Chaotic Neutral alignment by virtue of the benefits that his belligerent and often self-interested deeds sometimes had for others. At Gorg’s 32nd Annual Dragon Slaying Contest and Chili Cook-off, he took second place to a young upstart named Kneel, but never had the chance at a rematch because of what happened the year after. He currently owes a lot of money to a lot of angry people, and he needs to win the Nettle Chili Cook-off in order to pay his debts and restore his flagging reputation.

RYAN / Anathema The Wicked: Former Dark Princess pro tem of The Order of Fallen Magi, a group of idiots who she organized with the explicit purpose of making herself into a lich. When her plans to sacrifice all of them went wrong at Gorg, she became Hanzelbar’s slave, and has served him ever since, loyally, if not begrudgingly so. Though he has many magical prohibitions in place to keep her in line, she has found a way to skirt these precautions, and intends to see her master defeated at Nettle.

ALEX: Mitch The Horrible Flesh Golem: After the massacre at Gorg, Hanzelbar and Anathema gathered up the bloody pieces of the dead townsfolk and forged them into a new living creature, Mitch. Although he is a composite of everyone in Gorg, Mitch has a personality of his own, and dreams of one day becoming a troubadour. People are often horrified by Mitch’s mere presence, as he is a hulking seven foot tall amalgam of bloody flesh wrapped in a burlap sack, with the faces of five prominent townspeople sticking out of his torso.

We hope you enjoy listening to this game as much as we did recording it!